Monday, March 9, 2015

Modern Monday Finish! Louisiana Traveling Quilt

Here they are--the promised photos of the latest quilt!  This one is the Louisiana Traveling Quilt.  For several months (10 maybe?) the quilt top traveled around the state (and to D.C) from studio to studio.  Once it arrived, the caretaker of the month took a good look at what had been done before and then made a block to add to the top.  



It began with a simple concept....to create squares in neutral colors and arrange them in a circular shape.  Beyond that, the block designer could have fun.  I even created a block to give them some idea of what was in my head--it's the one encircled in red in this first photo.



Someone decided that I didn't know what I wanted and played with the idea of a circle in a square....


Others decided that circles and squares are more fun if they are released from....well, everything!

Here's where the communication began breaking down.  A square in a round or a round in a square?  Hmm, I know a square in a round in a square in a round in a....



This one!  Oh, yeah, I had fun with this. I extended the stripes into the background; then rather than quilt the stripes like a normal person, I quilted the background in stripes.  You know, when it's your quilt you can do the  most abnormal things.

Someone else was confused by the rules...so she tossed them all!



And then there are these quirky circles. Pancakes, I called them.  So like I do with pancakes, I split them up into bite size pieces and ate them.  They were pretty good.


 But there were more.  And donuts.  Ha!  They thought they'd fill me with carbs and then I'd crash.  Not this chick!  I eat carbs like I'm going to run or yoga or lift weights.  Nope, I'll just eat more carbs.  Pass the syrup!



Really, though, this is just weird.  What do we call this? My sister is a math teacher and she doesn't have a name for this.  Well, she is also a 60's hippie child (born in 1967) so she might just call it groovy.  Regardless, I stepped up to the challenge and quilted it with circles.  Check out the circles....imagine being on LSD and looking at these babies!  And because I can, I feathered the weird circles.  Who doesn't like a good challenge?  Those feathers just kiss the edges of the weirdness.   Ha!  Take that your royal strangeness!

I really had fun with this whole idea.  From working on blocks for other quilts to keeping track of the quilts on Pinterest to receiving and quilting my own top. Every part was fun. But perhaps the most fun has been showing the quilt, explaining the idea and, of course, getting all the compliments!  

Now it's your turn: what are your favorite things about this quilt?  Leave a comment!

9 comments:

Kaja said...

I love the way all those different, sometimes crazy, interpretations have been pulled together into one well-balanced whole. I love that there's so much to look at and I love the colours, especially the little highlights of orange and bright green.

Karen S said...

I like the way all the participants thought way outside your square and played with shapes. It's a wonderful finish.

Carli The Quilter said...

Totally groovey man! I love the weirdness and love that you weren't too bent out of shape when everyone went out of shape. Love it, thanks for sharing!!

Ramona said...

You have one of my favorite color schemes that came out of our bee. But my favorite is your quilting! I love the way you went crazy on this thing. Reminds me of an Angela Walters' style. You've got a beauty there.
Ramona

Deb said...

Amazing colors and amazing quilt!

audrey said...

Really fun quilt! Enjoyed reading about it!

Jayne said...

I love the idea of a traveling quilt! This is pretty amazing. I really love the circles mixed with squares,hexies...everything! Great job to everyone!

Muv said...

Hello Mary,

Such a great story about the making of this quilt. Congratulations on the finish.

My favourite quilting is in the fifth photo with the strips extending into the background, and the mystery shape is without a doubt a hard boiled egg - cut in half, and then again lengthways and the two quarters laid in opposite directions.

Thank you for linking up with Free Motion Mavericks!

Love from England, Muv

M-R Charbonneau said...

Such a fun quilt! I love that you customized the quilting for each block. Beautiful! Thanks for linking up to TGIFF!